In the development and manufacture of modern electronic circuits, testing of the circuits, whether it be for design debug, design confirmation, or the troubleshooting of defective circuits, is an indispensable activity. In order to evaluate or debug high-speed digital circuits, accurate measurement and display of signal waveforms and alternating current (AC) characteristics are often desired.
In many instances the measurements are performed by specifically designed probes, which have predefined physical and electrical qualities. The electrical qualities of a probe determine, in part, the response to the AC characteristics, the accuracy of the measurement, and the extent to which the probe detects the signal without detrimentally affecting the operation of the system or circuit being probed. One measure of a probe""s intrusiveness is the loading presented by the probe on the circuit. High probe tip capacitance causes circuit loading problems for circuits with fast edge rates. Minimizing the capacitance associated with the probe has been one typical solution for reducing the loading and intrusiveness of the probe.
In this regard, a recent development is a probe system that comprises a semi-rigid support attached to a probing end of a probe. A spring pin and an isolation network are attached to the semi-rigid support. The semi-rigid support permits probing without the use of a mating connector. This so-called connector-less probe can be used to probe printed circuit boards and buses. Such a probe system is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/373,820, entitled xe2x80x9cConnector-Less Probexe2x80x9d filed 25 Feb. 2003 by Brent A. Holcombe et al. which is incorporated herein by reference.
In representative embodiments, an alignment/retention device is disclosed. The device includes a housing having a first side and an opposing second side. The housing includes an opening which extends from the first side to the second side. Multiple alignment pins are imbedded in the housing and extend external to both the first and second sides. On the first side the alignment pins are capable of insertion into matching holes on the electronic probe, and on the second side the alignment pins are capable of insertion into matching holes on an electronic circuit assembly.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.